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The ACRL CLIPP (College Library Information on Policy and Practice) series helps staff at small and midsized academic libraries get up-to-date, practical information on common professional issues, problems, or trends. CLIPPs provides valuable assistance in establishing and refining services and operations. Each CLIPP focuses on a different topic and includes three components: (1) a literature review; (2) survey results and analysis; and (3) sample documents (e.g., policies and procedures) pertinent to the particular CLIPP topic. The literature review and survey analysis sections identify and describe trends and best practices in college and small university libraries, while the sample documents provide concrete examples for those working to develop similar policies or practices. You can see all CLIPP books in the .

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CLIPP welcomes questions and proposal submissions throughout the year. Visit the "Publish Your Book with ACRL" page for information on how to submit.

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After the proposal has been accepted, authors will create and distribute their survey.

A. Cover Letter. The cover letter should clearly and briefly explain the project and emphasize that it will result in an ACRL CLIPP publication. It should also include the date by which responses are to be received.

B. Draft of Questionnaire. The draft of the survey questionnaire should include or take into account the following:

• Size of the College and Small University Population. The Carnegie Classification System is used to define the CLIPP survey population (See Appendix A).The questionnaire must be distributed to all institutions in the CLIPP survey population.
• General Institutional Information. Appendix B shows a standard set of questions for soliciting general institutional information. Additional general institutional questions may be included if appropriate to the topic of the proposed CLIPP.
• Types of Questions. Specific, concise, and clearly stated questions that are meaningful to the respondents will result in the most valid and reliable data. CLIPP surveys can also include a few questions that allow for open-ended responses and that elicit qualitative or anecdotal information librarians find to be of value.
• Survey Design Resources. Survey Research Methods by Floyd J. Fowler (2014, 5th ed.), Designing Surveys: A Guide to Decisions and Procedures by Ronald Czaja and Johnny Blair (2014, 3rd ed.), and Asking Questions by Seymour Sudman and Norman M. Bradburn (2004, 2nd ed.) are excellent sources on questionnaire design. Designing Effective Web Surveys by Mick P. Couper (2008) offers advice on designing surveys for online administration.
• Length. To encourage the best possible return, the questionnaire should be as concise as possible. Most respondents will not complete a survey that takes them longer than 25 minutes. It is important to give respondents an estimate of how long the survey will take.
• Sample Document Gathering. The questionnaire should encourage respondents to submit files or links to relevant documents. Whenever possible, background information for submitted documents should also be provided. This might include the dates of preparation and revision of the documents, and their distinctive features, history, purpose, and/or use.

C. Recommended Number of Responses. A sample size large enough to achieve a minimum confidence level of 95% (confidence interval ±5) so that survey results are generalizable is recommended. This number of responses will vary depending on the size of the college and small university survey population. In cases where authors do not reach a generalizable number of responses, we expect authors to identify what their confidence level is and briefly explain what that means within their CLIPP publication.

D. Data Analysis. The analysis of the survey results provides a narrative summary and reasoned explanations about the meaning of the findings. The survey analysis section is not just a simple description of the data; the author’s detailed analysis should identify important correlations and trends. Earl Babbie’s The Practice of Social Research (2013, 13th ed.) provides an excellent overview on the basics of analyzing and reporting survey research.

Authors must also include a copy of the survey with the number of responses to each item. In reporting the number of responses to each question, the number of respondents who answered the particular question should be indicated each time. If the percentage of libraries choosing particular responses is indicated, the percentage of non-responses to the question should also be included, with the total percentage adding up to 100. For open-ended or "other" responses to questions, the author should include selected responses.

E. Sample Documents. The sample documents section should consist of a limited number of carefully selected documents that exemplify best practices relevant to the CLIPP topic. An executive summary that includes a brief description of each of the documents should precede the section, providing the reader with explanatory information relative to the contents.

The author may not consider the practices of nonresponding libraries in the earlier survey analysis section. The author may, however, seek, and publish (with permission) documents representing best practices by CLIPP libraries, even if those libraries did not respond to the survey. When acquiring permission, the author may encourage the library to respond to the survey.

Publication permission should be secured from the contributing libraries for all documents submitted for inclusion in the CLIPP. Wording for these permissions is included at the end of the standard questions in Appendix B.

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A. Preparing and Submitting your Manuscript. Recent CLIPPs and older CLIP Notes may be consulted as examples, but a first draft of the manuscript should include the following:

• Introduction. The CLIPP statement, which describes the purpose of the series, should be incorporated into the first paragraph of the introduction: “The College Library Information on Policy and Practice (CLIPP) series provides college and small university libraries analysis and examples of library practices and procedures. This CLIPP provides information on [insert topic here].”
• Literature Review and Bibliography. A final search of the relevant literature should be conducted at this stage to ensure that recent publications on the topic are included.
• Analysis and Discussion of Survey Results.
• Actual Survey with Results.
• Best Practices Documents.

When complete, the manuscript should be sent to ACRL's Content Strategist for editing and production.

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CLIPPs use the most recent revision of the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education to define the population of college and small universities in the United States of America. For more information about the Carnegie Classification, see . In order to be included in the CLIPP survey population, an institution must fall into one of the subcategories specified in each of the following six Carnegie categories: Master's Colleges and Universities; Baccalaureate Colleges; Baccalaureate/Associate's Colleges; Associate's Colleges; Special Focus Institutions; or Tribal Colleges.

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Each survey should request the following information:
Respondent information: (beginning of survey)
Institution name:
Address:
Name of respondent:
Title:
Work telephone number:
E-mail address:

Institutional Information:
Carnegie Classification:
__ Bac/A&S: Baccalaureate Colleges—Arts & Sciences
__ Bac/Diverse: Baccalaureate Colleges—Diverse Fields
__ Bac/Assoc: Baccalaureate/Associate’s Colleges
__ Master’s/S: Master’s Colleges and Universities (smaller programs)
__ Master’s/M: Master’s Colleges and Universities (medium programs)
__ Master’s/L: Master’s Colleges and Universities (larger programs)

Public ____ Private ____

FTE Students:

Number of Librarians:

Number of Library Support Staff:

Request for documentation: (at the end of survey)
Please enclose or attach samples of your library’s policies, guidelines, mission statements, URLs, or other documentation related to __(topic)__ that you think would be helpful to other libraries, and can be included in the CLIPP publication. Thank you.

Please check below if sample documents can be published in a CLIPP publication.
___ I give permission to publish any document I send with this completed survey in a CLIPP publication
___ A copyright statement is required to publish any document I send with this completed survey in a CLIPP publication.

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Date

TO: College and Small University Library Directors

FROM:

RE: A CLIPP Survey

The Association of College and Research Libraries publishes the CLIPP book series, compilations of practical information collected from college and small university libraries to benefit those considering their own policies and procedures of a particular topic. You are receiving this survey for the writing of [CLIPP title]. We appreciate your willingness to participate.

The following survey should take approximately 10-20 minutes to complete.

If you have [created or revised documents relevant to this topic in the last five years], we would like a copy of them for inclusion in this upcoming CLIPP. Please send an electronic copy (attach a document, refer to a URL, etc.) by email to [email address] .

If you have NOT [created or revised documents relevant to this topic in the last five years] in the last five years, we would still like to hear your feedback by completing this survey.

Thank you for your consideration of this survey; your participation is essential to the success of the CLIPP program.

PLEASE RESPOND BY [date survey closes].

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